Pietermaritzburg – Eleven University of KwaZulu-Natal students, who appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, will have to spend another 10 days behind bars before a decision is made on whether they will get bail.
Magistrate Mamsy Boikhutso adjourned the bail hearing so that she could see the video footage which the prosecution claimed showed the 11 throwing stones and bottles on September 22, during protests at the university’s Pietermaritzburg campus.
Prosecutor Pet Davids told the packed courtroom that the State was opposing bail because university property and students would be in danger if the arrested students were released.
She argued that since the accused had been taken into custody there had been peace at university premises and lectures were proceeding as per normal. She contended that if the accused were released on bail there was a risk of a university shut down.
“Their behaviour is not that of students but that of a criminal activity,” she said.
She said the State was in the possession of the footage showing all 11 accused throwing stones and bottles to the police and motor vehicles.
Lawyer Mazwi Dlamini, for the students, said keeping them in custody was both unconstitutional and would not serve the interest of justice as the accused are students.
He said the State did not have any proof that the accused had damaged university property.
Boikhutso said: “I will need to see footage first so that I can make an appropriate decision.” She then postponed the case to October 10.
Students who had packed the court expressed their disappointments with the outcome of the court proceedings.
African News Agency